Black Caviar to Take on the World

Undefeated sprinter Black Caviar may have just one start in Victoria during the spring racing carnival.

Black Caviar may have just one Australian start during the spring.

That was the assessment from trainer Peter Moody, who yesterday gave the closest indication that he will take on the world with his undefeated champ.

“She is the best racehorse in the world, and the world is one of the options.

“We are keeping all our options open and the owners have indicated to me they’d like serious thought to be given to the Japan and Hong Kong races, with a long term priority given to Royal Ascot next year.” Moody said.

The Sprinters Cup in Japan takes place on October 2, while the Hong Kong International Sprint is set down for December 11. If connections of Black Caviar decided on the Asian odyssey it would mean a very limited spring campaign for the world’s top rated horse.

Moody said that if he was to take the mare to Asia then she would have just one lead up race in Australia, that being the 1000m McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley on September 10.

News of Black Caviar’s imminent departure is not only bad news for racegoers, but also for the Victoria Racing Club. Black Caviar was set to be one of the major draw cards of the spring carnival, and there is little doubt that crowd numbers will suffer if she is not a part of Victoria’s show piece carnival.

What’s more, it puts the super clash between Black Caviar and Rocket Man in jeopardy.

The VRC has put up a $600,000 bonus up for grabs for any horse that can win a leg of the Global Sprint Challenge and then go on to win the Group One Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington.

However Black Caviar would not be eligible for the bonus, a decision that left trainer Moody feeling ‘a bit miffed.’

If Black Caviar stays in Australia and targets the Patinack, she will be racing for the standard prize money, if she goes to Japan, she will be racing for a first prize of $1.2 million, about the same total as Rocket Man stands to win if he can claim the Patinack Farm Classic and the Global Sprint Challenge bonus.

Some sceptics may argue that Moody is dodging Rocket Man to keep his mare’s undefeated streak intact, but according to Moody, nothing could be further from the truth. He even hinted that there may be some longer races in the future for the world’s best race horse.

“There isn’t a horse on the planet capable of beating Black Caviar up to a mile,” said Moody.

The serious contemplation being given to taking Black Caviar overseas is a far cry from Moody’s comments earlier in the year when he urged the world’s best sprinters to come to Australia to take her on.

Being a mare, Black Caviar’s stud value will not be greatly improved if she conquers the world. She has proven herself as a once in generation horse, meaning further wins will add to her legend, but not necessarily her value at stud.

However she is not lost to the spring carnival just yet and a six start Australian preparation is far from out of the question.

If the mare remains in Australia, her campaign could look something like this: the McEwen Stakes, the Manikato Stakes, Schillaci Stakes, Moir Stakes, the Patinack Farm Classic and the Winterbottom Stakes, which would give racegoers in Western Australia their first chance to see the horse in the flesh.

Moody also raised the possibility of starting Black Caviar in the Myer Classic, a Group One mile race for fillies and mares during the spring carnival.